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PREMIERE: On 'Dane On,' Baltimore Noise Punks Baklavaa are More Weird than Sweet

Stream the sludge-riddled new bloods' Grimoire Records debut in full.

Rising out of Baltimore roughly five years ago, Baklavaa has emerged as a new force in its hometown’s vibrant DIY community, offering listeners an enticing fusion of post-hardcore, sludgy punk, and eclectic noise. Following two EP releases, Hairmoans in 2012, and Spiral Cramp in 2013, the four-piece is set to release its debut full length, Dane On, on March 4 via Grimoire Records.

Dane On is comprised of material Baklavaa has been developing since 2012, and contains a raw, live-sounding energy that makes you want to run to the nearest basement show. The record kicks off with the stellar opening track, “Candy Cane,” which builds from a static hum into a pulsating post-hardcore frenzy. In Baklavaa terms, though, that frenzy is code for “calm before the storm,” as everything just get more unhinged from there. Take, for example, the noise-riddled “IV,” which possesses such a creepy, funhouse mirror vibe that (if it wasn’t the album’s fourth track) would seem to have been titled after an intravenous drip of some questionable pharmaceutical or five rather than a Roman numeral, the amorphous two-part suite “Gold Candier,” or the off-kilter, dysrhythmic balladry of “Ginger V.”

While there are plenty of hooky riffs, thunderous drumming, and 90s-styled familiarities throughout Dane On (such as the Jesus Lizard-invoking, bottom-heavy ooze of “Tampered With”), many of the album’s best moments are arguably its oddest.

Stream Dane On in full below, and grab the album on March 4.

Jamie Ludwig is staying weird on Twitter.